Add the library¶ Also there are two ways to add a library to Arduino IDE. 1.Add ZIP Library¶ Since you have downloaded the zip Library, open your Arduino IDE, click on Sketch Include Library Add.ZIP Library. Choose the zip file you just downloaded，and if the library install correct, you will see Library added to your libraries in the. Using arduino-esp32 as a component to esp-idf in Eclipse seems to work well. I installed it exactly as the README suggests and it compiled first time. What is the recommended way to add Arduino libraries and ensure that make knows what t. The library provides additional functions for the sketch we made. These functions can help us make sketches easier. There are many libraries that we can use. Arduino IDE's default library or external library created by someone or a community. In this article I will show you how to add an external library. Arduino-builder supports the '-libraries' parameter to add additional library folders (multiple!). Both arduino.json and settings.json (in the workspace/.vscode/. folder) do not support setting the '-libraries' parameter, thus making it impossible to put code that is used in multiple sketches at other locations than the default library location.

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What's a Library?

Arduino libraries take a complex task and boil it down to simple to use functions. Arduino users have written lots of exciting add-ons for Arduino. For example, capacitive sensing takes difficult timing and pulsing of digital pins. We can write the code from scratch, or we can stand on the shoulders of great people who are smarter than we are.

Capacitive touch sensing is a very popular interface. The CapacitiveSensor library takes care of everything so that we don’t have to write code like this:

All that code can be replaced with a much easier to use and understand statement such as:

The myCapPad.capacitiveSensor() takes care of all the heavy lifting and the senseReading variable contains the value sensed from our capacitive pad. Libraries make complex tasks easier so that we can focus on larger projects.

There are thousands of libraries out there! And luckily it’s pretty easy to install them. This tutorial will show you how to install a library in Arduino v1.0.5 but should apply for many past, present, and future versions of Arduino.

What is an Arduino?

What is this 'Arduino' thing anyway? This tutorials dives into what an Arduino is and along with Arduino projects and widgets.

Installing Arduino IDE

A step-by-step guide to installing and testing the Arduino software on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

The Arduino website also has great instructions on installing libraries if you need more information for using the Arduino IDE's library manager, importing a *.zip library, and manual installation.

Using the Arduino Library Manager

The library manager was added starting with Arduino IDE versions 1.5 and greater (1.6.x). It is found in the 'Sketch' menu under 'Include Library', 'Manage Libraries...'

Arduino 1.5+ Library Manager Menu Option

When you open the Library Manager you will find a large list of libraries ready for one-click install. To find a library for your product, search for the product name or a keyword such as 'k type' or 'digitizer', and the library you want should show up. Click on the desired library, and the 'Install' button will appear. Click that button, and the library should install automatically. When installation finishes, close the Library Manager.

Library in the Library Manager, Ready to be Installed

Alternatively, if you have a library of your own you would like to add or a library that hasn't been added to the Library Manger yet, you can click the 'Add .ZIP Library' option, which will then allow you to choose a folder or *.zip file containing the library of your choice.

Heads up! In previous version of the Arduino IDE, all libraries were stored together deep within the contents folder of the Arduino application. However, in newer versions of the IDE, libraries added through the Library Manger can be found in a folder named 'libraries' found in your Arduino Sketchbook folder.
For more information on the Library manger, including deleting and updating info, visit the GitHub: Arduino - Library Manager FAQ.
GitHub: Arduino - Library Manager FAQ

Now that the library is installed, an example sketch can be found in the 'Examples' submenu.

Example Sketch

Since this is a relatively new feature of the Arduino IDE at the time of this writing not all SparkFun products will have libraries in the library manager. We are adding new products and working our way through older products over time. If you don't find the library you need in the manager or for some reason cannot install one of the modern IDE releases, follow the instructions in the following sections.

Manually Installing a Library - Windows

This section covers manually installing a library under the Windows environment and utilizes quite a few screen shots. If you’re more of a text learner then check out the Arduino tutorial on installing libraries.

We are going to use the Capacitive Sense library for this example. Navigate to the library’s page and download the zip file.

The contents of the Capacitive Sense zip file

Find the zip file on your local computer (wherever downloaded files end up). Under Windows, you should be able to double click on the file to open it up.

This particular library contains libraries for both the basic Arduino and the more advanced Arduino Due. You can use both if you’d like, but, for this example, we will be copying and installing only the CapacitiveSensor folder.

Libraries will usually contain a *.cpp file and .h file. Most will also contain an examples folder.

Under Windows, Arduino stores all the add-on libraries within the My Documents folder. Here we see the location of the Arduino libraries folder.

Open an explorer window and navigate to the libraries folder under My Documents. Now copy the new CapacitiveSensor folder to the libraries folder.

Success!

Note: Arduino does not allow library folders to contain symbols such as hyphens ‘ - ’. Arduino will throw an error upon starting up. If the library you are installing has a funky folder name then this step is the ideal time to clean it up.

To verify the library has been installed correctly, open up the Examples folder under the Arduino IDE. Wait. Where’s the CapacitiveSensor example? Did you have Arduino open when you copied and pasted the directory? Arduino checks the library directory at startup so if you already have Arduino open, you will need to restart Arduino any time you add to the libraries directory.

If you don’t see the CapacitiveSensor example try closing and re-opening Arduino IDE.

There it is! Let’s open the example provided with our new library.

Examples are the greatest thing about libraries! Good libraries will have well written examples showing how to use the library. These sketches are wonderful resources for example code and learning how to write good code under Arduino.

You now have the Capacitive Sensor library installed! Feel free to start from the example sketch, or begin writing your own code using the functions provided by the library. A library usually has documentation either on its site or written into readme files and example code. In general, to quickly learn how to use a library check out the example code.

Manually Installing a Library - Mac

This section covers manually installing a library under the Mac OS X environment. If you’re more of a text learner then check out the Arduino tutorial on installing libraries.

Add Library To Arduino

Add Libraries To Arduino